Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an energy management system and more particularly, to an apparatus and method which is capable of allowing a user to easily retrieve data values stored in an energy management system.
Description of the Related Art
Under circumstances of increased government regulation for improvement of energy efficiency and reduction of greenhouse gas, increased burden on energy costs, insufficient supply of power, and so on, there is a rising interest in reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency. Although the reduction of energy consumption requires measures which are systematic, sustainable and effective, satisfactory means have not been suggested until now. Therefore, for the purpose of reduction of energy consumption, there is a need of powerful means for determining where and how much energy is consumed, discovering factors of energy dissipation, and finding and fulfilling improvement plans.
As such means, an energy management system (EMS) capable of monitoring and controlling a flow of energy is receiving the global spotlight. The energy management system is an integrated energy management solution capable of optimizing energy consumption by monitoring situations of energy consumption in real time and analyzing an aggregation of data based on hardware, software and ICT-based monitoring and control techniques.
The existing energy management systems had inconveniences in data inquiry using a real-time database, as will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating the configuration of data management of a conventional energy management system.
In the conventional energy management system, when the system is started, a control unit 12 fetches schema information and a database file included in a database 11. Accordingly, in order to inquire (or retrieve) real-time data, a user has to inquire a server 10 in which the database 11 is working. Specifically, the user has to access the control unit 12 of the server 10 in which the real-time data are residing.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a data managing process of the conventional energy management system.
A current database included in the energy management system is a real-time database. Therefore, the energy management system receives an input of entry selection intended for data inquiry (S101). Specifically, a plurality of entries for data inquiry may be present. In addition, the data inquiry in the energy management system requires a selection for the plurality of entries. Real-time data are managed by means of a pointer rather than the form of a table and, therefore, there is a need to select an entry corresponding to the pointer.
Upon receiving an input of entry selection, the energy management system receives an input to select a sub entry of a selected entry (S103). An entry for data inquiry may have a hierarchal structure. Therefore, the energy management system can receive a selection input for each of hierarchal structures for correct data inquiry.
As one example, the energy management system receives an input to select one of entries in the order of Vector, Method, Item, ItemData and Array. If the uppermost entry is Vector, the energy management system receives a selection input for Method associated with the selected Vector. In this way, the energy management system can receive the selection input sequentially up to the last sub entry.
The energy management system inquires one data for the selected entry (S105).
The conventional energy management system has the above-described problem. One embodiment of the present disclosure capable of overcoming this problem will be hereinafter described in detail.